Meet Acronym’s Nate Ford
SEO Strategist
When did you join Acronym?
I joined Acronym in June of 2014.
What do you do for Acronym and which clients do you work for?
I’m an SEO Strategist, meaning I guide overall strategy for clients’ search engine optimization efforts. I’m currently working with Scotts, Nasdaq and AIA.
If you had to cite the most impactful change affecting the SEO business that Google has made over the past 12 months, what would that be?
Well, we were all expecting Google’s April 21 mobile algorithm update to be a sort of “Mobilegeddon,” but so far it has turned out to be more of a mobile blip for most sites… for now.
What are the lingering effects of that change and how has Acronym helped its clients adjust to it?
I think that mobile-friendliness will become more pronounced in the algorithm as time goes on, and I think that just Google’s announcing the update has helped make the web a little bit better for users than it was before. As for what we’ve done to help clients adjust and prepare: We were already ahead of the curve on this. We’ve been stressing the importance of mobile-friendliness for years. As a result, by the time the update came on April 21, the majority of our clients were already prepared and in a position to gain from the new update – instead of scrambling to redesign their sites.
What do you consider the most interesting aspect of search marketing overall and the current state of the business?
I really enjoy search marketing because of the fast pace of the technology industry in general. There are always big changes around the corner—both predictable and surprising—that keep things challenging, exciting and fun. I also like the fact that we have the ability to effect real positive change for our clients. The work that we do matters, and it can have substantial positive impacts on huge global corporations. I think that is really quite cool.
What do you like to do best when you are not working?
I’m a pretty big nerd. Gaming, reading, comics, reddit, sci-fi, public radio. You name it. I’ll be attending my first Comic-Con this year, which I’m pretty excited about. When I’m not exploring fictional worlds, I enjoy being outside as well. I go camping, fishing, and hiking as often as I can. As a matter of fact, I’ll be spending this weekend sleeping in a tent.
